Newbie with a question

indianaplantlover(6)March 5, 2006

I bought a bag of lily bulbs at walmart. I know it's not a popular place to buy them but the picture on the box and bag was so pretty I had to have them. The name is Samur. I misplaced them and have been searching my house for 3 weeks for them. O.K. dh had put them on the back porch where he goes to smoke. It is enclosed and unheated but he runs a small space heater just when he goes out to smoke. Anyway, I found them today and all 3 bulbs have sprouts about 2 to 3 inches tall on them. Our ground is not frozen, it hasn't frozen all winter. Should I go ahead and get them planted or put them in a pot and keep them protected? It is supposed to be in the high 50s to low 70s for highs this week and night time lows in the 30s. Any help appreciated. Vicci

This is a frequent question here. You might read through some of the prior posts, of which I'll link a pertinent one.

It's warmer in my zone. Lilies tend to come up when they're ready. Asiatics are already up. The 'Cancun' that I couldn't resist at Walmart for the same reason that you gave are 6 inches tall. We still get night temps in the 30s sometimes. If frost threatens, I cover them with heaps of pine straw.

Potting up until later is an alternative if you expect any late hard freezes that may kill newly formed buds. It's only the first week in March, but they need to be in soil, somewhere, making roots.

Lilies can be planted any time the ground isn't frozen, as long as you handle the roots carefully. You're going to be burying them deep enough that 2 or 3 inches of growth are going to be covered, anyway, but you could put a little mulch on top, if you like. It certainly wouldn't hurt them. They will slow their growth down dramatically once they're outside in the cold ground. The thing to be most careful of is overwatering. They don't like to be sodden and cold. If the ground isn't frozen and is well-drained, they should be just fine.